Ellis shares inside story of arena district development

Published: 2013-02-25

To a standing room only crowd of Fisher students and real estate professionals, Brian Ellis, president and chief operating officer of Nationwide Realty Investors, gave a rare glimpse into the behind the scenes details of the development of the Nationwide Arena District at an event co-sponsored by the Center for Real Estate Education and Research.

“As students, it’s not every day that we get the opportunity to interact with industry professionals who have transformed the community,” said Scott Pearson, a first-year MBA student. “Particularly for students, this was an interactive event and we could ask any questions.”

The Arena District was developed by Nationwide Realty Investors, the real estate development affiliate of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. The 75-acre, mixed-use downtown development surrounds Nationwide Arena and features more than 1.5 million square feet of commercial real estate, including office space, restaurants and entertainment venues. Several hundred multifamily residential units and public parks are integrated in the $750 million development.

Nationwide has been in the real estate development business since the early 1950s and developed various projects around the city, Ellis said. However, Nationwide Realty Investors had begun to scale back its real estate investments during the 1970s and 1980s.

There was some discussion about Nationwide headquarters leaving Columbus to relocate in Powell, Ohio where the company owned some land because Nationwide thought there were limits to growth in downtown.

“Can you image what downtown Columbus would be like if that decision was made to relocate?” Ellis asked.

When developing the area was first proposed in 1997 by city officials, much of the early discussion centered on a publicly funded development and bringing a major sports team to Columbus. 

The conversation was solely focused on an NHL team, not the larger vision of mixed use development that would include entertainment, retail and housing, Ellis said.

After Columbus voters rejected a sales tax proposal that would have financed the Nationwide Arena and other downtown development, Nationwide stepped in and decided it would develop the area privately.

“We felt like this was a once in a generation opportunity,” Ellis said.